Thinking This Week
SPORTS AS WORSHIP
The NCAA basketball tournament is back. When it fell a year ago, I opined that the gods of this world were falling. Politics were in uproar, scientists were scratching their heads, colleges were sending kids home, financial circumstances were in chaos, entertainment venues were closed.
With the return of sports… and the American worship of it… we in the Church could take some lessons from the American love affair with sports. Specifically, there is a lot of “worship” connected with sports. Games are filled with cheers, music, uniforms, rules, excitement and traditions. Sports are very “liturgical.” When you are watching games over the next few weeks think about how some of those experiences can or should be mirrored in Sunday morning worship. Are there some things the Church should learn from sports?
One more thing, I hope Christians are as eager to get back to their sanctuaries as sports lovers are to get back to the game.
(And I hope my picks prevail!)
DISASTER PROOFED LIFE
No telling what might happen from day to day. If we learned nothing this last year, we have learned that. There are lots of things we do in an attempt to protect ourselves: buy insurance, store water and food, get exercise and take vitamins, learn to use weapons.
And yet, you never know…
One thing we do know, when we are in Jesus we are truly safe. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25) Whoever is in Christ has a disaster proofed life—by definition.
That should help us live without anxiety, fear, grumbling. And it should help us to live with love.
MANNA PRINCIPLES
My Bible reading for the year has me in the midst of the Exodus, actually deep in the weeds of Leviticus. One of the fascinating things about the Exodus was the miraculous provision of manna. How can we apply the Israelites’ manna experience to how God provides for he people today?
Think on these “Manna Principles:” (See Exodus 16 for more information.)
- God gives me today what I need for today.
- Things get spoiled if I try to store up extra.
- When I get to tomorrow, God will provide again.
- God provides, but I have to get out of bed to go pick it up.
- You won’t go hungry if you take time off to worship God.
How might these principles apply in your life?
Think how we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Do we pray for daily bread and then work or borrow like mad to accumulate and hoard? See how Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-34 coincide with “Manna Principles.”
What peace might you find in living by “Manna Principles”?